Talk:The Centennial History of Oregon, 1811–1912/Volume 1
On the value of this work[edit]
@TE(æ)A,ea.: I see you are taking something of an interest in this work. Before we get too far, I'd like to consider the value of this one. While I believe Joseph Gaston was generally a well respected historian, I have not personally seen these works (Centennial History or Portland, Oregon: Its History and Builders) discussed much in other publications, and they're pretty thin on footnotes or methodology. It seems to me that they're somewhere between textbooks aimed at students or the not-so-critical public, and vanity press; you'll notice that the second and subsequent volumes of each consist only of short biographical profiles, so I expect that it was either a "pay-to-play" scheme, or at least a bit of a profit-driven project built on the idea that each of these people and their families would purchase copies of the book. Obviously, the history of Oregon is a topic I care about a great deal; but I think it might be better to focus on other works, like Victor/Bancroft Vol. 2, or maybe Harvey Whitefield Scott's history (if a scan can be found). Or just more of the Oregon Historical Quarterly...I've been enjoying working on the ones between 1924-1962, as copyright was not renewed, but they are not easy to find online. -Pete (talk) 23:45, 22 July 2020 (UTC)
- P.S. For what it's worth, the reason I uploaded these to begin with was because I wanted to grab the images, for possible incorporation in Wikipedia articles etc. -Pete (talk) 23:46, 22 July 2020 (UTC)
- I will just finish up the front matter, and then move on. For Scott’s work: (external scans (multiple parts): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). The fifth, sixth, and second volumes cannot be accessed, even though the simultaneously published third, fourth, and first volumes can be accessed; however, this may be easily remedied, if communication may be had with Google Books. The scan quality, as regards images, especially, may be troublesome, but I find no other scans with which to replace these. TE(æ)A,ea. (talk) 00:43, 23 July 2020 (UTC).
- OK, thanks. I also realize, that I'm probably overthinking the whole question of what to focus on next. Mostly I'm just pleased to see somebody taking an interest in these works, and eager to share the thoughts that have been piling up in my head as I pore through them over the last few years. Don't pay my preferences too much mind. -Pete (talk) 01:17, 23 July 2020 (UTC)
- Also, if you want to work on Index:Lewis & Dryden's marine history of the Pacific Northwest.djvu at any point, there is a better scan here. TE(æ)A,ea. (talk) 15:10, 23 July 2020 (UTC).
- Great, thanks @TE(æ)A,ea.: I've uploaded that one here: Index:Lewis & Dryden's Marine History.djvu -Pete (talk) 18:00, 28 July 2020 (UTC)
- OK, thanks. I also realize, that I'm probably overthinking the whole question of what to focus on next. Mostly I'm just pleased to see somebody taking an interest in these works, and eager to share the thoughts that have been piling up in my head as I pore through them over the last few years. Don't pay my preferences too much mind. -Pete (talk) 01:17, 23 July 2020 (UTC)